A Note for Parents

Our team of PJ Our Way professionals puts great thought into each month's selections. These books span a range of interests and reading levels, however, we cannot guarantee that every book is the right fit for every child. Each month, this blog will include updated parent information including summaries, discussion points, and content warnings for every title we offer.

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PJ Our Way Parents Blog

Trying to get your tween to read more? Looking to help a struggling reader gain skills and confidence in reading? Have a book worm who can’t put a book down? Dogs can help!
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Trying to get your tween to read more? Looking to help a struggling reader gain skills and confidence in reading? Have a book worm who can’t put a book down? Dogs can help! Kids across the country are practicing their reading skills, gaining confidence, and learning to love reading by reading to dogs. Libraries and schools are using reading dog programs as a way to encourage reading and develop reading skills in a safe, non-threatening environment. Dogs provide a comfortable setting because they are great listeners, don’t react if a child makes a mistake, and are a calming influence on the kids. Animal shelters are connecting with this trend and inviting kids to read to their dogs. Reading can calm these animals and increase their interest and social interaction with kids.

Want to use dogs to help your child develop reading skills or a love of reading? Here are four easy things you can do…

Do you have a dog at home? Have your child practice reading to your pet.

Call your local library to see if they have a dog reading program.

Call your local animal shelter to see if your child could read to their dogs.

Break the ice by encouraging your child to read a book about dogs. Check out the hysterically funny Mitzvah the Mutt by Sylvia A. Rouss told entirely from the perspective of a dog, available as a PJ Our Way selection in May 2017.

Born in New York City to poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Stanley Lieber overcame financial hardship to become ‘Mr. Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee, creator of many of the best known and most popular superheroes including Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man.
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What the Book is About:

Born in New York City to poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Stanley Lieber overcame financial hardship to become ‘Mr. Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee, creator of many of the best known and most popular superheroes including Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man. With helpful panels giving background information on subjects such as the Depression and How Comics are Made, this is an entertaining look at Lee’s life, told in a straightforward style.

Jewish Content and Values

Stan Lee's parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and he grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in New York City.

Stan showed the Jewish value of hatmadah – perseverance – in pursuing his dream of becoming a writer.

Positive Role Models

Stan Lee followed his mother’s advice and studied hard in school so that he could graduate and contribute to the family finances. He took any job he could get in order to help his family, but continued to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. During World War II he was a volunteer in the US Army.

Content Advisory

None

Topics to Discuss

In 1971, the United States government asked Stan to write a Spider-Man comic about the dangers of drug use. The comic book industry had a code of conduct that meant comics couldn’t mention drugs! Stan ignored the code of conduct and wrote three anti-drugs Spider-Man stories. They didn’t receive the seal of approval from the Comic Code Authority. What would you have done in Stan Lee’s position? Would you have followed the rules or done what you thought was right?

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Did you know that many of the most famous superheroes were created by Jews, and a Jewish man invented the first comic book? Maxwell Ginsburg changed his name to the more “American” Charlie Gaines and put together all of the week’s comic strips into a book called Famous Funnies. Stan Lee created not just Spider-man and Iron Man, but the X-men, Thor, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Captain America was invented by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (originally Jacob Kurtzberg), and Batman was created by Bob Kane (originally Robert Kahn) and Bill Finger. In recognition of the contribution of Jews to comics, the first ever Jewish Comic Con was held in November 2016 in a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York.

Eleven-year-old Justine Silver is experiencing a serious identity crisis. Originally from New Rochelle, NY, Justine’s world felt very Jewish; her best friend, Shira Weinstein, was observant, and her family lived near the synagogue, even if they didn’t attend very often. Now that they’ve moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, Justine’s become more curious about the religions of the world and since her new best friend, Mac McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, Justine’s decided to get into the spirit and give up being Jewish for Lent, as well.
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Eleven-year-old Justine Silver is experiencing a serious identity crisis. Originally from New Rochelle, NY, Justine’s world felt very Jewish; her best friend, Shira Weinstein, was observant, and her family lived near the synagogue, even if they didn’t attend very often. Now that they’ve moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, Justine’s become more curious about the religions of the world and since her new best friend, Mac McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, Justine’s decided to get into the spirit and give up being Jewish for Lent, as well. But when her beloved Bubbe becomes seriously ill (after Justine visits a church), she feels somehow responsible and even guilty for not honoring her grandmother’s Holocaust experience by exploring other faiths. Justine’s voice is irreverent and hilarious as she finds guidance in a number of unlikely places in this Sydney Taylor award winning book.

Jewish Content and Values

Justine’s family are Conservative Jews who attend synagogue for High Holidays and celebrate Shabbat with a family meal.

Justine’s Bubbe is a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who observes Jewish law; all of her other grandparents are Jewish and also speak Yiddish (words are defined in a glossary at the end of the book).

Justine’s family observes traditional Jewish law after a death in the family by sitting shiva, tearing Kriyah, and saying Kaddish.

Justine has many philosophical conversations about Judaism and religious observance with various family members and friends.

Positive Role Models

Bubbe is a loving and supporting grandmother to Justine. She understands her crisis of faith and encourages her to ask questions.

Father Joseph is kind to Justine and helps her to deal with her bereavement with practical advice.

Mrs. McAllister is a great mom of a large brood, she cares deeply for her children and their friends, bakes cookies, and encourages Justine to look inside herself for solutions.

Rabbi Freeman welcomes Justine into his synagogue and introduces her to the concept that God is more nuanced than the heavenly Terminator that she envisions.

Content Advisory

Justine and her family must deal with sickness and the inevitability of death as a beloved elderly relative passes on. Some children might feel sad to read of the death of a family member. Justine’s reflections as she tries on several faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, and Catholicism are quite humorous, age appropriate, and legitimate, but not always sensitive, tolerant, or respectful. Her comments are occasionally in poor taste but not actually disparaging towards other faiths and methods of observance. For example, the idea of dressing up a teddy bear as a priest and confessing to him in a closet might offend someone who finds comfort and inspiration in the confessional. Jussy’s spiritual journey continues past the end of the story, although we are left with a genuine impression that Orthodox Judaism may provide her with some of the answers that she is looking for.

Some negative body image messages are scattered throughout this story; it’s noted, several times, how stylishly thin Helena (Justine’s sister) and her mother are, in contrast to Justine’s short, chubby figure. Emotional eating and dieting are also referred to. These not-so-subtle observations wrongly imply that not all girls’ teen bodies are strong and beautiful, regardless of size and shape.

Topics to Discuss

Picture Justine, five years later, at age 16. What do you think her life will be like?

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The Mourner’s Kaddish, or Orphan’s Kaddish, is a short prayer of praise of God, traditionally recited daily for eleven months after a parent’s death, and annually on the yartzeit, the anniversary of the loved one’s passing.

This offbeat graphic novel (third of a trilogy including: Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword and Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite) is set in a fictitious Jewish shtetl (a small Eastern European Jewish village) called Hereville. The heroine, Mirka, is not your typical eleven-year-old Orthodox Jewish shtetl girl. She dreams of becoming a hero and slaying monsters, and is decidedly not enthused to be babysitting her little sister, Layele. Mirka’s thirst for adventure leads her in over her head as she fights a magical fish with a thirst for revenge and discovers what is most precious to her.
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What the Book is About:

This offbeat graphic novel (third of a trilogy including: Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword and Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite) is set in a fictitious Jewish shtetl (a small Eastern European Jewish village) called Hereville. The heroine, Mirka, is not your typical eleven-year-old Orthodox Jewish shtetl girl. She dreams of becoming a hero and slaying monsters, and is decidedly not enthused to be babysitting her little sister, Layele. Mirka’s thirst for adventure leads her in over her head as she fights a magical fish with a thirst for revenge and discovers what is most precious to her.

Jewish Content and Values

Hereville is a fictional shtetl: full-color drawings depict girls and boys in traditional Orthodox garb classic to the shtetl era, and colorful Yiddish words (translated in footnotes) are used throughout.

Mirka and her family celebrate Shabbos (Yiddish for Shabbat – the Jewish day of rest). This is an important spiritual time for Mirka and her stepmother to put aside their fears and gain strength to fight against the magic fish.

Tzar Baalei Chayim (suffering of living things) refers to the Jewish Talmudic principle that forbids causing unnecessary pain to animals. Mirka decides that burying the magical fish alive to protect future generations is not the way to be a kind and responsible Jew, and convinces her stepmother and sister to find another solution.

Positive Role Models

Mirka is a fun character with lots of personality. Her impulsivity and passion often get her into trouble, but her good-natured introspective side cares deeply about doing the right thing.

Fruma, Mirka’s stepmother, protects and loves Mirka as a mother would. Although many might argue that the potentially life-threatening circumstances of the plot warranted desecration of Shabbat, she nevertheless demonstrates tremendous commitment to tradition as she celebrates Shabbat under trying circumstances.

Content Advisory

There’s some light comic-book style violence (Smack/Bam/Pow/Ouch) as well as a few insults like “stupid.” The idea of Mirka’s sister Layele being kidnapped underwater by the fish could be frightening to some kids.

Topics to Discuss

Because the fish gains strength with every attempt to hurt her, Mirka actually fights the fish successfully by not fighting the fish. Do you think that this method could be used in a real fight between two friends? What are some methods you’ve used successfully to end a fight?

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Gefilte fish is a classic Ashkenazi appetizer eaten on Shabbat. Made of ground fish, spices, eggs and bread crumbs or matzo meal mixed into a paste, rolled into patties and then poached in a fish broth, it is traditionally served with a sliced cooked carrot on top and beet-flavored horseradish (chrane) on the side. Cooking fish in this manner stretched a bit of ground fish into enough food to feed the whole family, although religiously observant Jews also served this dish to avoid the prohibited activity of borer (choosing) on Shabbat; eating gefilte fish avoided the necessity of picking out the bones from the flesh. Gefilte fish may be sweet or peppery: the taste often revealed the eastern European origins of the chef, as Polish/Galician Jews traditionally opted for the sweet version while Lithuanians were fans of the savory dish.

Benjamin Epstein is having a tough seventh grade year. His father died, leaving the family with serious financial issues, and he and his mom are about to be evicted from their apartment. To further complicate matters, Ben’s Zeyde, who has memory problems, is his new roommate—and he snores! Ben has all kinds of creative get-rich-quick schemes involving various contests and sweepstakes, but can he really make enough money to pay the back rent?
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Positive Role Models:

Content Advisory:

What the Book is About:

Benjamin Epstein is having a tough seventh grade year. His father died, leaving the family with serious financial issues, and he and his mom are about to be evicted from their apartment. To further complicate matters, Ben’s Zeyde, who has memory problems, is his new roommate—and he snores! Ben has all kinds of creative get-rich-quick schemes involving various contests and sweepstakes, but can he really make enough money to pay the back rent?

This book is full of fun and goofy facts about toilet paper, but it also deals with serious issues. This aspect of the book is at odds with the cover, which gives the impression that it is a light read with lots of kid-style humor. While the book certainly is amusing, it is not all lighthearted.

Jewish Content and Values

Yiddish words used throughout the book are defined in a glossary, and there are a few mentions of Jewish practices and holidays like Shiva and Hanukkah as well.

Tzedakah: Mr. Taylor epitomizes the Jewish tradition of giving charity with dignity when he sends Ben’s friend, Toothpick, to school with lunches packed with extra food for Ben, and when he offers Ben lasagna to take home, insisting that it’s extra, but knowing that in Ben’s house food is scarce.

Caring for widows and orphans: Mrs. Schnekle, a widow herself, scrupulously practices the commandment to care for widows and orphans (Exodus 22-21-24). She looks out for Ben and his mother, brings them home cooked meals, and speaks out on their behalf to Mr. Katz, the landlord.

Positive Role Models

Benjamin internalizes his family’s financial struggles and works hard to improve the situation. He is a responsible boy who respects and appreciates his mom, his zeyde, and Mrs. Schnekle.

Mrs. Schnekle is a kindhearted and generous neighbor who supports the Epstein family both practically and emotionally. She even finds a solution for Zeyde’s ever-worsening Alzheimer’s.

Zeyde is a loving and thoughtful grandfather. He sincerely regrets causing the family pain when his memory fails, and he is a really good sport, agreeing to model a toilet paper wedding dress for a competition.

Content Advisory

This book touches on difficult issues such as poverty, Alzheimer’s disease, mourning, and aging in a kid-friendly, realistic way. Some kids may feel sad reading about a child who has lost a parent, is facing eviction, and sometimes doesn’t get enough to eat. However, Ben’s likeable personality and the happy ending serve as a pleasant contrast to the (sometimes) grim realities of Ben’s life.

Topics to Discuss

Even though he’s just a kid, Ben feels responsible for helping out his mom by earning money to help pay the rent. Do you have an important job in your family? What are some of your responsibilities?

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Naming in Jewish Tradition:
At the end of the book, Ben names his new goldfish after his pen pal, Ed. In Jewish tradition, it’s customary to name a child in honor of a relative. In Sephardic tradition, children are often named after their living grandparents; in Ashkenazic tradition, children are usually named in memory of a loved one who has already passed on. Many believe that the shared name creates a metaphysical bond between the two souls, inspiring the child to adopt the good qualities of their namesake, while the soul of the departed intercedes in heaven on behalf of the child, thus paving the way for an easier life. The Talmud implies that baby names are divinely suggested and that expectant parents receive some measure of prophecy when choosing their child’s name.